The billion dollar ballroom budget item

The Hill -   A Republican proposal to spend $1 billion in taxpayer money on security for the White House ballroom has become a political landmine in the Senate debate over funding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for the next three and a half years.

Before the Senate Judiciary Committee released its bill, Republican senators warned that using taxpayer money to pay for the ballroom would be a dumb move in an election year where GOP candidates are already facing headwinds over the issue of affordability. While the legislation clearly states that the money is for security enhancements and may not be spent on “non-security elements” of the construction project, that distinction is being lost in the media headlines and broader debate over the sensitive issue.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) says he supports the construction of the White House ballroom, but he wants it paid for by private donations, which President Trump originally pledged when he tore down the historic East Wing.  “If the White House and Secret Service believe that they need money for construction beyond these private funds they’ve raised, I’m willing to hear them out. There are plenty of things that we can cut to pay for it, like wasteful earmarks or all the fraud we’re uncovering in states like California and Minnesota,” Scott said in a statement.